Red to Crimson
by The Light's Refrain
Summary: Did Red's ultimate victory over the Pokemon League, and his long-time friend/rival Blue, unlock his ultimate downfall and isolation? A series of drabbles on Red and his life between becoming Champion and becoming a silent Trainer in the frozen Mount Silver. Co-story with reminiscent-afterthought's After Being Blue.
1. Change

_Hi! Welcome to the second co-drabble series I'm working on. So it works like this: both me and reminiscent-afterthought are working on twin drabble series set in the same world. In this case, these drabbles are set between when Red first becomes Champion, to when he's living alone in Mount Silver. I'm doing Red here, while she's doing Blue in After Being Blue. Make sure to read both series if you want the full story! We each update in turn (so first she posts, sends me a prompt, then I post and send her a prompt, etc.) so the updating schedule will be erratic. I may post something every day, or I may post something every few months. As these are drabbles, they will be short (800 words max), random, and not necessarily in order. _

_So, enjoy!_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I don't need Pikachu chewing on the electric wiring of my house (bonus if you know what I'm talking about XP)_**

_"People who make no noise are dangerous." - Jean de La Fontaine_

Red to Crimson

Poke-ball 1: Change

Red and Blue had fought over everything, since…_ever_. They had fought over pens, leftover change, the latest action figures, the first place in line, and the last cookie. These weren't just arguments of "_Is not, Is too"_ like most kids. They actually _battled_, tackling, wrestling, biting, kicking and screaming at each other. They were like wild Pokemon, scaring the other kids away.

But, also like wild Pokemon, they _loved_ fighting. All those other kids were just wimps, cowering behind weak words. Red and Blue scrapped, the victor would claim whatever spoils available, the loser would rant, and then they moved on. Soon, they were eagerly awaiting the next scuffle, the next excuse to challenge the other again.

They were born Pokemon Trainers.

When they got their Pokemon (finally!), not much changed. Their brawls simply became between their Pokemon instead of directly with each other. It was a lot more fun to watch Flamethrowers and Hydro Pumps than just punching each other over and over. Plus, it gave them masks of sanity to wear in public. It was perfectly normal for a Pokemon Trainer to be constantly seeking combat, after all.

But, as their inevitable journey progressed, something _did_ start to change. Red and Blue were always equals before. Some battles Red won, and some battles Blue won. But evidently Red was a much better Trainer, for defeating Blue became easier all the time. Suddenly, the battles weren't as fun. Red didn't enjoy crushing Blue, and he saw Blue go from merely annoyed to sincerely bitter and frustrated. Even at the Pokemon League, where Blue stood as the newly-throned Champion…

And now Red was the Champion instead. He would be lying that he wasn't thrilled to be the Pokemon Master, and relished all the new fame and opportunities open to him. Yet, somehow, he was _bored_.

He wondered what Blue was doing, as he lounged in the Champion's room. Maybe he should drop by. A punch to the face sounded oddly refreshing.

_IIIIII_

_So what do you think? Does that sound like a plausible version of Red and Blue? Feel free to let me know. _


	2. Cute

_Merry Christmas everyone! :D This will probably be your last drabble before Xmas, so I hope you like it :). _

Poke-ball 2: Cute

People often asked Red why he didn't evolve his Pikachu. When Red bothered to answer the insulting inquiry at all, he simply smiled and said "Because it's cute."

People thought it was soft thinking, maybe even naïve. But that's what Red wanted them to think. The reason why his Pikachu was so potent was _because_ it was cute. He found this out the hard way when he first caught it stealing berries from his backpack. He sent his Charmander after it, thinking that it could easily handle such a pipsqueak of a Pokemon.

That Pikachu destroyed his Charmander. And his Rattatta. And even his male Nidoran. Ironically it was his Pidgeotto who helped him make the capture, using multiple Gust attacks to disorient the electric mouse. But even the bird Pokemon was badly wounded in the battle. Red never thought a Pikachu could be so vicious. And that's why he loved it immediately.

The cute rodent soon became the star of Red's team, even over Charmander (soon a Charmeleon). Again and again it would fool regular Trainers and Rocket Grunts alike with its adorable act, only to swiftly fall prey to its ferocious assaults of shocking and biting. Some sore losers asked if that was really a Pikachu. Red just laughed.

It could actually be a cuddly creature when it wanted to be. It loved to ride along Red's shoulder, or nap on top of his head, or even offer him berries it had found while wandering. But it also liked to zap him unexpectedly, or chew on his hand, and just play rough with him in general. But that was fine with Red. He played rough back, rubbing its fur the wrong way and pulling at its ears and tail.

Red loved all of his Pokemon, of course. But he and his Pikachu were kindred spirits, brothers of different species. Pikachu, the endearing one hiding its brutal love for battle, and Red, a wild boy who wore a mask of silence and a cute, knowing smile.

_IIIIII_

_I have to believe there's something different about Red's Pikachu, and with the prompt "cute", this is what came up XD. _


	3. Glorious

_Hello again! So Remi has lots of stuff to do, and Commencing Overwrite tends to take precedence over this, so updates will be erratic. This one's kind of short, but I hope you enjoy it anyway :)._

Poke-ball 3: Glorious

At first, Red thought the best part of traveling was the combat. His life had been all about fighting before he became a Trainer, and he expected it to stay that way. Sure enough, his rootless journey summoned many a battle to his path, both wild Pokemon and not-so-wild Trainers.

But, as it turned out, it was the wilderness itself that Red loved the most. Each day his wanderings brought him to new glorious sights. The yellow-and-orange fall of Viridian Forest, the sight of Clefairy gracefully waltzing around softly-glowing moon rocks, a huge Pidgeot snatching a Raticate off the ground in one swift, flawless swoop. What a wonder the world was! This beat TV and internet pictures _any_ day!

Red sometimes spent days exploring and basking in nature, even when the next town and Gym were only a short walk away. Who wanted to go in a stuffy, artificial Gym after being _outside_? Some thought his Pokemon were so tough because he spent so much time out in the wild. He supposed that was probably true, though he chalked that up more to when he was _lost_ than when he was roaming for the sake of it.

It was almost funny, now that he thought about it: before, Red claimed that he would battle, and battle only, and save sight-seeing for when he was bored. Blue had claimed he would become the best by checking out every nook and cranny for the strongest Pokemon and Trainers. In the end, they did the opposite: Red lingered, while Blue rushed. Did that make a difference, in the end?

_IIIIII_

_So yeah, this one's kind of rambling drabble. However, there is a plot reason for this drabble as well. Probably not too hard if you think about it though XP._


End file.
